Tag Archives: Celtic Connections

Acclaimed Malian vocalist Oumou Sangaré is set to perform at Celtic connections festival on January 30, 2018.

Sangaré returned from an 8-year recording respite in 2017 when she released her album Mogoya. The new album includes French production trio A.l.b.e.r.t. and celebrated Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. Mogoya combines traditional Wassulu roots with vibrant rock, funk, soul, and dance beats.

Shetland’s Fiddlers’ Bid will headline a Main Auditorium concert at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Fiddlers’ Bid formed during playing lunchtime sessions at high school. Fiddlers’ Bid share a bond going back more than 25 years and since the very beginning, their island’s unique musical heritage has been at the center of what they do.

Frigg – Photo by Tero Ahonen

Fiddlers Bid’ will be joined at Celtic Connections by Finnish seven-piece ensemble Frigg, who are similarly led by four contemporary masters of proud native fiddle traditions. Frigg’s latest album is 2017’s Frost on Fiddles.

The Celtic Connections festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2018 with an ambitious and eclectic line-up of musicians from all corners of the world.

The festival will run from Thursday, January 18th to Sunday, February 4th, 2018. The 18 days of concerts will include a series of one-off musical collaborations together with talks, workshops, film screenings, ceilidhs, art exhibitions, free events and late night sessions.

Celtic Connections 2018 will incorporate music from the past to music of the present and will look ahead to the future of an increasingly experimental and stimulating music scene, with ever increasing musical styles and cross genre fusions of jazz, classical, folk, world music and electronica.

Donald Shaw, Artistic Director of Celtic Connections, said: “Since the inception of Celtic Connections in 1994 the Scottish music scene has developed and diversified hugely. When the festival began there was still significant compartmentalization of genres, which although has its place at times, has become less prevalent over the years. The influence and inspiration that the traditional music scene has had across the whole musical landscape in Scotland and worldwide has helped to make the journey of Celtic Connections all the more adventurous and exciting.

“As an internationally renowned festival we continually strive for better and the 25th edition is no exception. Audiences will be treated to performances from some of the best artists from across the world and an array of unique collaborations and an eclectic mix of world music.”

Shawn Colvin and Her Band – A Few Small Repairs 20th Anniversary Tour with special guests Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
Sunday 21 January
7.30pm
Tickets from £28
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Main Auditorium

Acclaimed world, folk and roots music festival Celtic Connections 2017 has announced some of the acts scheduled to perform in 2017. Although the full program will be revealed in October, tickets for Billy Bragg and Joe Henry’s concert at Celtic Connections 2017 are now on sale. Celtic Connections 2017 will take place from Thursday. January 19 to Sunday, February 5.

Billy Bragg and Joe Henry will be performing songs included on their album Shine A Light, that was recorded on a four day railroad trip across the United States, along with favorites from their own back catalogs on January 26 at the Old Fruitmarket.

In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, accompanied by their guitars, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station seeking to reconnect with the culture of railroad travel and the music it inspired. Wandering along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the two musicians recorded classic railway songs in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train stopped to pick up passengers.

The UK’s number one star in the blues rock world Joanne Shaw Taylor, will be playing at the O2 ABC on January 20.

The following night The Felice Brothers will bring their classic American folk-rock and country-rock music to the O2 ABC, playing songs from their well-received album, Life in the Dark.

Nicola Benedetti – Photo by Rhys Frampton/Universal MusicThe Celtic Connections music festival will open with a special concert by award-winning classical violinist Nicola Benedetti, together with leading Scottish artists Julie Fowlis, Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham. The concert will take place on Thursday, January 16th at 7:30 pm and the musician will reveal material from Nicola Benedetti’s upcoming Scottish-themed album.

Accordionist and composer Phil Cunningham also team ups with former La Bottine Souriante accordionist Yves Lambert’s trio, along with Malawi’s Peter Mawanga & The Amaravi Movement.

Nicola Benedetti is one of the leading classical violinists of her generation. Born in Scotland of Italian heritage, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of five with Brenda Smith. In 1997, she enrolled in the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya. Upon leaving, she continued her studies with Maciej Rakowski and then Pavel Vernikov, and continues to work with multiple admired teachers and performers. Nicola plays the Gariel Stradivarius (1717), courtesy of Jonathan Moulds.

She has performed with the world’s finest symphony orchestras and also plays chamber music, performing as a trio with cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk since 2008.

Nicola is deeply committed to music education and to developing young talent. She established her own education and outreach program titled The Benedetti Sessions. Launched in March 2013 at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, these sessions gave hundreds of aspiring young string players the opportunity to rehearse, undertake and observe master classes culminating in a performance alongside Nicola.

Celtic Connections announced additions to the lineup of Big Top in Broadford, Isle of Skye to be held from 23rd – 24th March 2012.

As the culmination to the Year of Scotland’s Islands, Celtic Connections Big Top will feature a top line-up of traditional music, action-packed workshops, and the showcasing of local talent alongside top international artists.

Scottish songstress Karen Matheson, of Capercaillie fame, will be making a special guest appearance with the Celtic supergroup Dàimh. Karen Matheson was described by Sean Connery as having “a throat surely touched by the hand of God.”

Celtic Connections announced that Skye favourites Niteworks will be gracing the Big Top stage on the Saturday night. Niteworks have an array of influences from Shooglenifty and the Peatbog Fairies to Apparat and Kollektiv. They reflect their Skye heritage in live Gaelic vocals, pipes and whistles, while drawing on the dynamic electronic music scene of their adopted Glasgow. Niteworks are spearheading today’s new wave of Celtic dance floor sounds.

The Civil Wars are going to be at the top of their game when they hit the Celtic Connections Big Top stage on Saturday 24th March as it is the last night of their sold out UK leg of their world tour. The Civil Wars enjoyed great success at this year’s Grammy awards where they won Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Fèis Rois are running four different workshops on Saturday 24th March at The Broadford Hotel, Torrin Road, Broadford, Isle of Skye, IV49 9AB. The workshops are as following:

Places can be reserved by phoning Fèis Rois on 01349 86 2600 or e-mailing fios@feisrois.org.

Fèis Rois have also joined the bill for Saturday 24th March. Fèis Rois has taught thousands of budding singers and instrumentalists at their fantastic workshops. Many Celtic Connections performers have also been taught by the Fèis so this will be a great chance to spot their successors on this very talented bill.

Also playing are Raul Malo, Rosanne Cash, The Civil Wars, Michael McGoldrick Band, Dàimh, The Deadly Gentlemen, Aoife O’Donovan (Crooked Still), Mànran and Fèis Rois with more special guests still to be confirmed.

Celtic Connections Big Top also announced that they will be running a return bus service between Portree, Broadford, Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyleakin and the venue at Broadford airfield. For further information on this exclusive bus service visit the website at www.celticconnections.com/bigtop or phone the box office on 0141 353 8000.

Donald Shaw, Celtic Connections Artistic Director, said: “We are delighted to be announcing these brilliant new artists for Celtic Connections Big Top. Karen Matheson special guesting with Dàimh promises to be a brilliant performance and after their sell out gig at this year’s Celtic Connections we are very pleased to be welcoming local boys Niteworks to the Celtic Connections Big Top stage. The workshop element is great as this will ensure that everyone who wants to be involved can be.

The Celtic Connections team are very proud to be bringing this extensive and exciting line-up to the Isle of Skye in less than two weeks’ time! The two night event definitely promises to be a weekend to remember with an array of fantastic music, engaging and motivating workshops and a new and exciting venue!”

Murdo Mackay, a project leader for the Year of Scotland’s Islands and Western Isles Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said: “It’s great to see an ever-growing number of new artists being announced as part of the Celtic Connections Big Top event, which is sure to attract new audiences as well as loyal folk and world music fans to Skye later this month.

“The Big Top is the perfect finale to The Year of Scotland’s Islands, which has had over 500 fantastic events take place across 42 islands since its launch last April. The Year of Scotland’s Islands has showcased and celebrated the music, arts, food and history of the islands as well as highlighting their unique beauty as visitor destinations too. The Big Top captures this spirit perfectly.”

Svend Brown, Director of Music at Glasgow Life, said: “Celtic Connections brings people from all over the world to Glasgow to celebrate and enjoy the finest performances with a Celtic theme. The Celtic Connections Big Top will allow many more people the chance to enjoy and take part in some amazing performances and workshops. Taking one of Glasgow’s best festivals to an island with a rich musical heritage is a sign of the city’s ambition to play a growing part in delivering world-class culture across Scotland and beyond.”

Tickets are available online at www.celticconnections.com/bigtop or you can contact the box office 0141 353 8000 priced at £40 for a full access, weekend ticket, or £25 for a day ticket.

Bus tickets are also available online at www.celticconnections.com/bigtop or you can contact the box office on 0141 353 8000 tickets are priced at £5 return and bus stops will be at Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyleakin, Broadford and Portree.

At the heart of the Celtic Connections festival is the vibrant folk and traditional music scene, with some of the UK and Ireland’s finest musicians set to raise the roof this January 2012. Celtic Connections 2012 runs from Thursday 19th January – Sunday 5th February and comprises 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, workshops, free events and late night sessions taking place over 18 days in 20 venues across Glasgow.

The superb Scottish supergroup Session A9 will headline a fiddle triple-bill in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (also featuring Toronto’s Sultans of String and the Quebe Sisters from Texas). Lau join forces with the Northern Sinfonia for the first Scottish performance of their epic orchestral work, Strange Attractors, written by the trio and Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine.

Stalwarts of the Scottish folk scene, including Sheena Wellington, Elspeth Cowie, Aileen Carr, Gordeanna McCulloch and Barbara Dymnock, will take to the stage at the festival.

Specially curated for the festival, the Celtic Connections Box and Fiddle Night celebrates more than 60 years of the dance band with a cast of dance music luminaries recreating classic tracks.

Ian McCalman will create an evening of music built around the album Far Far From Ypres (songs, poems and music of World War I), whilst Corrina Hewat’s six-harp suite The Oak and the Ivy encapsulates the diverse energies of the contemporary Scottish harp revival.

Once again the festival spotlight shines on Gaelic talent. Julie Fowlis’ Heisgeir is a documentary film which splices footage exploring the history and heritage of the now-unpopulated Monach Isles with live Gaelic song and music from her band.

Inspired by the unique Gaelic song tradition of the Outer Hebrides, Cuairt nan Eilean will bring together Jenna Cumming (Harris), Linda MacLeod (North Uist) and Darren Maclean (Skye) for an exploration of the rich song traditions of their native islands.

Other Gaelic artists appearing at the festival include Mànran, whose phenomenal energy and footstompin’ Gaelic tunes have taken the music scene by storm this past year, as well as Maggie MacInnes, Anne Martin, The Campbells, Alyth McCormack and Kathleen MacInnes. Ceolas – a celebration of the Uist festival of Gaelic arts – will feature Rona Lightfoot, Angus MacKenzie and a host of other renowned singers, pipers and dancers.

St Mary’s Cathedral will play host to a Gaelic Mass, composed by Blair Douglas featuring the Inverness Gaelic Choir with soloists Paul McCallum and Maggie MacDonald.

Ceol ‘s Craic, will once again host a series of films, lectures and workshop throughout the festival celebrating Gaelic arts, including a Gaelic hub encouraging people to drop in and experience film, workshops and get information on Gaelic culture in the city.

Celtic Connections will also pay tribute to the late and dearly lamented Ray Fisher (1940-2011) with a line-up including Archie Fisher, Cilla Fisher, Martin Carthy, Sheila Stewart, Emily Smith, Siobhan Miller and Fiona Hunter, performing an array of the key songs she shared with them.

Other high profile folk artists performing at the festival include Northumberland’s Kathryn Tickell, Steve Tilston, The Unthanks performing the Scottish premiere of their acclaimed show, The Music of Robert Wyatt and Anthony & the Johnsons, Mercury-nominated North East band Tarras, and KAN featuring Aidan O’Rourke, Brian Finnegan, Jim Goodwin and Ian Stephenson.

Artistic Director Donald Shaw today unveiled a stellar program for Celtic Connections 2012 in Glasgow (Scotland). The festival will showcase some of the biggest names in folk, roots, world, traditional, indie, blues and jazz. performing this January and February. Celtic Connections enters its 19th year in 2012, will run from 19th January – 5th February and is sponsored by ScottishPower.

The 19th Celtic Connections festival will see around 2100 artists from around the world taking part in 300 events in 20 venues across Glasgow over 18 days.

Program highlights include Béla Fleck and the original Flecktones, The Aaron Neville Band, Bruce Hornsby and guests, Jack Bruce (Cream) with Lau, a Woody Guthrie Centennial, Orchestra Baobab, The Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band, Song for Ireland, a one-off reunion gig with Glasgow’s The Big Dish, and Floating Palace featuring KT Tunstall.

An all-star line-up will assemble to celebrate the life and music of Gerry Rafferty, in a show curated by his daughter Martha Rafferty and long-time friend Rab Noakes, featuring The Proclaimers, Barbara Dickson, Maria Muldaur, Ron Sexsmith and more.

Spearheading the festival’s political strand is a celebration of the Woody Guthrie Centennial with his granddaughter Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. Coming together for the first ever live performance of the The Woody Guthrie Project are Jay Farrar (Son Volt), Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket), Anders Parker and Will Johnson (Monsters of Folk).

Also part of the political strand, the festival will host a UCS Work In 40th Anniversary Celebration, marking 40 years since the conclusion of the historic Upper Clyde Shipbuilder Work In.

ShoogleniftyOne of Glasgow’s most atmospheric venues, the Old Fruitmarket, will open its doors to an eclectic line-up of Scottish and international folk talent this autumn. On 1st September, the autumn Fruitmarket Folk season kicks off with the return of folk veteran Eric Bogle. Due to overwhelming demand following his sold-out show at the Old Fruitmarket in June, Eric and the guitar and mandolin player John Munro will play a second date in Glasgow as part of their final tour of Scotland.

On Saturday 5th September, an all-star cast will unite for a one-off Celtic Music Radio Fundraiser Concert. The show will be headlined by the acclaimed musician and singer Eliza Carthy, and will feature performances by Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Dorris, Scottish harp duo The Duplets, and Scottish singer-songwriters Kim Edgar, Dean Owens, Craig Jeffrey and John Malcolm.

Fiddlers’ Bid will demonstrate why they are internationally respected as the leading exponents of Shetland’s musical heritage on 11th September. The band combines a dynamic four fiddle front line with a powerhouse of piano, bass, guitar and Scottish harp to create a display of stunning virtuosity.

Scots fiddle master Alasdair Fraser and American cellist Natalie Haas return to Glasgow on 16th September following their sell-out show at Celtic Connections 2008, which was acclaimed as a “feast for the ears” by The Herald. Their resurrection of the classic musical marriage between big and small fiddles – a familiar feature of Scottish music in the 18th century – results in a fascinating combination that occasionally sounds like a baroque duo. Support comes from Celtic Connections Danny Kyle Award winners Pipedown.

The inimitable fiddle and accordion duo Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham arrive at the Fruitmarket on September 19th. Having toured together since 1988, they have a reputation for an irrepressible sense of fun and quick-witted storytelling as well as delivering virtuoso performances.

On 1st October, a dream team of musicians unite to take part in Music like a Vitamin, which launches the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Retaining the home-grown, intimate feel of last year’s show, this year’s Music Like A Vitamin is curated by two of Scotland’s best loved singer-songwriters and guitarists, Karine Polwart and Emma Pollock, both performing on the night alongside Alasdair Roberts and James Yorkston. Dublin’s Adrian Crowley will join James on stage to sing the songs of Daniel Johnston.

Boston-based alternative bluegrass band Crooked Still perform on 20th October. With a fearsome live reputation, they are known for their high energy, technical skill, unique instrumentation and innovative acoustic style. Scottish chanteuse Emily Smith opens the evening.

Ground-breaking Scottish mavericks Shooglenifty push the word “traditional” to its limits with their blend of dance vibes and roots music. One of the best live bands on the Scottish scene, their genre defying sound has been described as everything from “acid croft” to “hypnofolkadelia,” and they bring the Fruitmarket Folk season to a close on 11th November.

Hosted by Danny Kyle’s good friends Gibb Todd and Liz Clark, the Open Stage is a chance to see new musical talent as they try to win a coveted support slot at next year’s festival – and all absolutely free!
In partnership with the Evening Times

Through her work with Seelyhoo, Anam and the Mackenzie trio, Lewis-born Fiona Mackenzie has won rapturous praise for her exquisitely emotive singing, in both Gaelic and English, with tonight’s show launching her first solo album, Elevate.

Following the acclaim heaped on BBC Scotland’s third series of Transatlantic Sessions, broadcast in autumn 2007, Celtic Connections presents another glittering line-up of Celtic and American stars, all of whom were featured in the recent programs.

Since their inception, these concerts have consistently ranked among the festival’s fastest-selling tickets, hence the decision this time to stage the show twice, with the same line-up of artists on both nights, although – given the proceedings’ traditional element of spontaneity – the set-list may well vary between the two.

Heading a truly stellar cast of singers, soul/country diva Joan Osborne makes her Celtic Connections debut. Finding inspiration in sources as diverse as blues, gospel and Indian devotional music, Osborne has collaborated with the Dixie Chicks, the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal, combining her arrestingly sensuous voice with direct, emotive songwriting. Also from Stateside comes a phalanx of top roots vocalists, including Tim O’Brien, Mindy Smith and Darrell Scott, with the Scottish team featuring Eddi Reader and Karen Matheson.

Also assembled for this year’s ‘ultimate back-porch session’ are a mouthwatering dream team of renowned instrumentalists, with Shetland fiddler Aly Bain and dobro king Jerry Douglas (CMA Musician Of The Year 2007) once again acting as musical directors.

Among the remaining US visitors are guitarists Russ Barenberg and John Doyle, bassist Garry West and banjo ace Alison Brown, while accordionist Phil Cunningham, percussionist James Mackintosh, Donald Shaw on piano and accordion and Michael McGoldrick on flutes and whistles complete the Celtic contingent, for what promises to be two very special concerts.
Sponsored by ScottishPower

Born in New York of rural Deep South descent, singer and guitarist Guy Davis is perhaps today’s consummate exponent of acoustic, old-time and country blues, having reinvigorated the field with a string of critically-acclaimed albums since the mid-1990s.

Named for his godfather, bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, roots’n’blues guitarist William Lee Ellis combines his Tennessee roots with a longtime love for pre-war blues artists, creating his own unique Americana blend.

With a voice and songwriting style that’s already earned comparisons to Joni Mitchell, Edie Brickell and Tracy Chapman, as well as support slots with Suzanne Vega and Martha Wainwright, Philadelphia-born Catherine Feeny seems poised for major success, following rave reviews and heavy rotation for her second album Hurricane Glass, a radiantly melodic mix of folk, pop, country and blues.

Former lead singer with such groundbreaking outfits as Mouth Music and Solas, the singularly gifted Scottish vocalist Kaela Rowan returns with a new collection of her own songs, accompanied by Shooglenifty’s James Mackintosh, Quee MacArthur and Luke Plumb, plus fellow singers Gina Rae and Heather Macleod.

Session A9
Fri 1 February, 7:30pm
£15
ABC

We may still be waiting for their long-anticipated second album, but Session A9 have only themselves to blame for our impatience, given that they set the bar so high to begin with.

Having hit the ground at a gallop with their superb debut release What Road? in 2003, the Highland fiddle-led supergroup, helmed by Capercaillie’s Charlie McKerron, fast established themselves as a world-class live act, both in their formidable collective firepower and their elegantly orchestrated arrangements, with the subsequent addition of Peatbog Faeries drummer Iain Copeland raising the rhythmic stakes still further.

Box Club with Fribo
Fri 1 February, 7:30pm
£12.50
The Classic Grand

Currently hard at work on their hotly-anticipated debut album, the young accordion supergroup Box Club return after last year’s Celtic Connections debut with a fistful of new tunes, featuring the formidable squeezebox frontline of Gary Innes, John Somerville, Mairearad Green and Angus Lyon, with guitarist Mike Bryan, bassist Duncan Lyall and percussionist Martin O’Neill.

Bringing together the talents of Norwegian singer Anne Sofie Linge Valdal, Scottish fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers and Englishman Ewan MacPherson on guitar and mandola, Fribo are one of the freshest and most inventive acts on the emerging ‘nu-Nordic’ scene, exploring and creating links between British and Scandinavian traditions, with a deft peppering of wider contemporary influences.

Jock Tamson’s Bairns’ second album ‘The Lasses’ Fashion’, released in 1982 (and listed among Richard Thompson’s all-time Top 10 for Q magazine), remains a landmark in the contemporary revival of Scottish music, its marvelously fresh yet sensitive arrangements of Scottish traditional material having arrived on a scene still dominated by post-Corries ballads and Chieftains tunes.

It’s performed tonight by the original personnel of Rod Paterson, Norman Chalmers, John Croall, Derek Hoy, Iain Hardie and Jack Evans. The concert’s other half will feature fiddler Anna-Wendy Stevenson among the Bairns’ current line-up, with special guests including the superb young Scots singer Siobhan Miller, and veteran bothy balladeer Jock Duncan.
Sponsored by Eskmills

Filling the Old Fruitmarket with the authentic flavors and atmosphere of a typical Breton ‘Fest Noz’ (night festival), tonight’s bill of fare will include traditional food and drink from the region, alongside a mouth-watering musical menu.

Led by percussionists Dominique Molard and Jacques Moreau, Stok an Dañs perform hypnotic rhythm-driven arrangements of dance tunes old and new, interwoven with African grooves.

Guitarist Gilles Le Bigot’s six-piece band Empreintes, named for his jazz-inflected 2002 album of that name, features several fellow luminaries of the contemporary Breton scene, including legendary flautist Jean-Michel Veillon, saxophonist Bernard Le Dréau, and Ronan Pellen on cistre, the Breton cittern.

Pellen is also among the line-up of the Hamon-Martin Quintet, one of Brittany’s hottest young traditional bands, alongside Mathieu Hamon (vocals), Stevan Vincendeau (accordion), Erwan Volant (bass) and Erwan Hamon (bombarde).

The late night club ensures there is even more music to enjoy after all the gigs are over. Join local and international artists as they make special unbilled appearances or join in one of many sessions happening in the bars.

With food and drink in plentiful supply you can happily keep going into the early hours of the morning whilst witnessing some of the best musical collaborations of the festival.

Master of ceremonies, Gibb Todd returns to present each act on stage and Doris Rougvie hosts The House of Song in a peaceful oasis away from the main stage.

Bring your festival to a perfect end in the company of Iain Anderson, as he invites some of the best local and international song-writing talent to join him at BBC Scotland’s new home at Pacific Quay. Live on BBC Radio Scotland.

The 15th Celtic Connections festival takes place over 19 days in January and February in 14 venues across Glasgow, Celtic Connections is the UK’s premier Celtic music festival, with over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops.